Friday, September 13, 2013

Book Review: News of the Shaman

News
of the Shaman is a collection of four short novellas by Karl R. De Mesa, namely
Angelorio, News of the Shaman, Faith in Poison, and Bright Midnight. These
stories are interlaced, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they complement
each other. Each has its own stories to tell and can pass as a stand-alone
work.

The
first feature gets its name from a club that has underground mythical
inhabitants, which range from cherubs to vampires. The story is mainly about a
group of people who visits the area for personal business with these creatures.
I really appreciate the premise, but for me it has not been executed well. The
problem is the flow of the story. It goes to random directions that don’t
contribute to the story that the author wants to tell. I find the telling of
the back-stories of the characters to be stretched out. Sure, there are
elements in the back-stories that are essential to the plot, but I just feel
that telling an elaborate back-story is really unnecessary, not to mention that
it tremendously increases word-count -- and not for the better, but for the
worse. Other than this, Angelorio has no major flaws, and so its other
departments seem to shine. The story is impressive in terms of portrayal of
rituals and other spiritual references, and it has been able to trigger an
emotional response on two of its main characters.

The
second novella is, apparently, where the collection pays its respect. It tells
the story of a shaman who is under legal procedure because of an accused
murder, and this has been sensationalized by the media. What I like about this
story is the fact that it has been written in a rather experimental style. The writing
exploits a pseudo-epistolary style, mixed with TV reporting dialogue,
interviews, and casual conversations. The writing, overall, is very informal
that it comes to the point of being hilarious -- and this is a good thing by
the way. This style is somewhat refreshing to read. I’m also glad that I get to
see the protagonist’s background and history without the elaborate back-story
that I’ve seen in Angelorio. I get to learn about the character through the
interviews and conversations in the story, and not through a direct telling of
his past.

Faith
in Poison, the third novella, is the one I enjoyed the most. The prose of this
story is much smoother compared to Angelorio, and I couldn’t compare it to that
of News of the Shaman since that has been written in an experimental style.
Aside from that, the characters are more fleshed-out and just more interesting
in general. They actually have something going on inside them, and they are not
just bland objects that serve as perspectives to the development of the plot.
However, the story is not perfect. It seems to have the same problem with
Angelorio. It goes to unnecessary directions. As far as I remember, there are
two random stories inside this novella that don’t seem to contribute anything
but to make the work longer. They could be completely eradicated and nothing
will change in the plotline.

The
fourth novella is called Bright Midnight, and it talks about a musical band
that is being haunted by the memories of their dead mate. Again, the author has
exploited the telling of the back-stories of each member of the band. However,
I must say that this exploitation is entirely different from that of Angelorio’s.
The telling of the back-stories of each member is necessary and contributes
deeply to the story. In fact, it is almost the core of the story that removing
them would be disastrous. Aside from that, it has also made room for attachment
to the characters, so their emotional turmoil has been very relatable. In terms
of emotional response, this is the story that has captured me the most.

Overall,
News of the Shaman is an interesting read. The author did his homework on
researching about the spiritual references necessary for his work. His ideas
and plotlines are also interesting. But sadly, they don’t go beyond the
traditional horror that seems to plague the Filipino bookshelves. The major
flaw in this book is its tendency to stretch itself some word-count
unnecessarily. And the best thing about it is its ability to incorporate
mystical concepts to everyday lives, making it appear that there is always surrealism
in the ordinary.

About The Author

You can call me Arvin Saints, but that is not my real name. I use that name in all my legitimate social media accounts. It’s not that I don’t want to directly associate myself to the cyber world. The name is simply an inside joke among my compatriots.